PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A Maine Labor Department memo describes the rollout of a new unemployment filing system as a “failure” that’s been costly to taxpayers as well as recipients of benefits.
The Morning Sentinel newspaper reports that it obtained an internal memo marked “confidential” that was written by a Department of Labor employee, but never made public.
The memo writer described thousands of dollars in temporary staffing and overtime because the new software was rushed out. It said, “Someone needs to account for the failure.” It also said poor planning and decisions “look a lot like cover-ups.”
Recipients of benefits have complained of being locked out the computer system, and of delayed payments.
The newspaper reports that John Feeney, the director of the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, John Feeney, declined to be interviewed.
